Space Cases: Revival
by DG
Summary: UPDATE! New chapter! The crew is trying to take a vacation, but a vision of Elmira's could get them home...
1. Messages In A Bottle

After they'd escaped Pezu, the crew of the Christa were all happy to finally be able to pause the trip back to Starcademy and re-supply and relax. Harlan and Suzee also agreed that it would be a good idea to set up the universal message device and speak to their families again.  
" You know, Harlan, I didn't get to speak to my family because they were taking my sisters to the science museum. And I know Cat would have loved to speak to you guys. So, if we can set this thing up, let's call up my dimension and see how they're doing," Suzee said as she, Harlan, and Radu moved the 'Intergalactic Telephone' as Harlan called it to a spot a few feet away from the ship.  
" Hey, that's a good idea. Hey, Radu, you gonna try contacting Elmira on this thing?" Harlan asked.  
" No, she's probably deep in Spung space and any message to her is probably screened."  
" Yeah, Harlan. Remember how we've had trouble on planets already? At least this time we're on this planet by choice. You know, it feels good to get out of the ship for a few days," Suzee smiled, the three of them setting the device down and stretching.  
" So, let's fire up this baby and call Cat! I haven't seen her since she was struggling to get away from Warlord Shank," Harlan smiled.  
" Well, that's easier said than done. You see, I have no clue if this thing will reflect properly and contact properly. I'll need to test it before we send any messages away from here, and I'll also try to get the most indirect path for the message to reflect. That way, we won't have another space pirate bearing down on us," Suzee explained. Commander Goddard walked over.  
" Ah, I see you're getting our only way of contacting anyone outside of our ship. Good going cadets," Goddard smiled.  
" Thank you, Commander. Miss Davenport, Rosie, Bova, and Thelma are already getting food to restock our food levels. After Eaty, we've needed a whole lot of food," Suzee said as she began her tests.  
" Well, it's good that we actually were able to restore Thelma's memory circuits after Rosie was forced to melt her memory to kill Pezu's virus," Goddard smiled.  
" What memory?" Suzee asked. " We still have never gotten her to remember anything about the Christa's original mission."  
" Just... get the machine running. Admiral Cody will want a progress report if we're able to get this thing to work here," Goddard sighed.  
" Yeah, and I'll be glad to see if maybe the admiral is willing to override Miss Terrell's decision to fire Miss Davenport. Ya know, she's been a really cool teacher in the past year we've been away from Starcademy," Harlan chuckled.  
" Yeah, but will your step dad or Cat recognize you with those braids?" Suzee chuckled.  
" Yeah, maybe it is time I took them out. After all, I'm not the leader of the Hil people anymore. But you did say you liked them," Harlan said with a smile.  
" Not anymore," Suzee smirked.  
  
Bova and Rosie were down at a beach trying to catch some fish.  
" So, Bova, do you think you and your dad will do a lot of talking today?" Rosie asked as she cast her line into the water again.  
" Probably not. I bet we won't be able to reflect the message beacon through the ionosphere," Bova said, his line not bobbing at all.  
" Oh, Bova, why do you always have to be so negative?" Rosie asked.  
" Let's not go through that again, Rosie. It was a pain being so positive the whole time," Bova shuddered, just as Rosie's line began bobbing.  
" Oh! I got something!" she cried as she began reeling in her line in.  
" Great. Just my luck. Cheery girl gets all the fish, and all I get are the worms we're using as bait," Bova muttered. When Rosie finally got the line in, it turned out it wasn't a fish- it was a bottle  
" Hey! Bova! This bottle has a message in it!" Rosie exclaimed, " Come on, let's take it to Commander Goddard."  
  
When they arrived, the message in the bottle was put out of their minds because Suzee had been able to raise Catalina.  
" Cat!" Rosie cried.  
" Hey, Rosie!" Cat smiled.  
" Cat just got through a meeting with the Science Wing back home. They say they might be able to find a way to get Cat back here," Suzee exclaimed.  
" Yeah, but there's only one problem. The scientists say that the trip would be one-way. There's no way for Suzee to get home to her family. And, Suzee, your sister really misses you and the fact that you missed her recital," Cat sighed.  
" I know, Cat, but I'm certain that it's a small price to exploring this dimension and the species in it. Also, Starcademy and UPP scientists could probably find some way to get me home," Suzee smiled.  
" Then it's settled. Cat, get into uniform and inform the ring of scientists that you're able to come home. And I'll bet your family would love to hear something from you," Goddard smiled. Cat nodded and the message blanked out.  
" It'll probably take a few hours to get Cat back," Suzee explained.  
" Good. We can prepare the ship and her section of the room for her return," Goddard smiled. Rosie suddenly remembered the bottle.  
" Oh! Commander! Bova and I were fishing, and I pulled in this bottle! I thought it would be a good idea for Thelma run a contamination check on it before I opened it," Rosie explained.  
" Good idea. Thelma?" Goddard cried. As usual, the human-emulating machine popped up behind the commander.  
" Yes, Commander?" " Ah!" Goddard jumped, " Thelma, how do you do that!? Never mind. Thelma, I need you to run a decontam process on this bottle Rosie found. Then we can check the message in it."  
" Yes, Commander," Thelma said and placed a finger on the bottle. " Analysis complete. There are no harmful entities inside or outside the bottle. It is safe to open."  
" Good," Goddard said and opened the bottle and pulled out the piece of paper and opened it. " There's nothing on it except five-six-nine-mark seven-eight-four."  
" Maybe they're coordinates we need to go to," Harlan said.  
" Thelma?" Goddard asked.  
" Those coordinates match a planet an hour away from here," Thelma stated.  
" Then we should probably load up the message machine and go there. There might be someone in trouble," Goddard said.  
" Right, but, we might want to let Cat know that she won't be able to contact us," Suzee said as she powered the machine back up.  
" Alright. You do that while I go get Miss Davenport and we can all head back the ship," Goddard said.  
  
Soon the Christa was back in space and heading for the planet Gemta.  
" Hey, Harlan, what do you think we'll find on Gemta?" Radu asked.  
" I don't know, but I doubt we'll find a person. Gemta is a gas giant with a gravity larger than Jupiter, which means no one can survive on it."  
" Well, maybe they're on a ship in orbit," Suzee suggested.  
" Maybe. Or maybe it's some kind of treasure on one of its moons. Yeah. Now that's what I'm talking about," Harlan chuckled.  
" Or maybe it's a super-charged engine that'll get us back faster," Suzee smiled. " I sure that's just what you were thinking about," Radu chuckled.  
" Well, whatever it is, we're about to find out. We're coming up on Gemta, Commander," Harlan reported.  
" Commander, I'm reading some kind of engine material in orbit around the planet. There's also some debris- and it has Spung energy markings," Suzee reported.  
" Commander, if the Spung were here, then they'll definitely be returning. We should leave the area," Miss Davenport said.  
" I don't think so, Miss Davenport. These markings are rather similar to that of the ship currently docked at Pezu's station. I'll bet they were part of the same fleet, and the Spung will assume that they're victims of Pezu's virus and were destroyed will all of their data. After all, we are only three light-years from her station," Suzee reported.  
" Be that as it may, Bova, put us on yellow alert and have the engines ready to head back to our little vacation planet. I don't want to take any chances," Goddard said.  
" Commander, I've found the energy source of the engine material," Suzee stated, " It's coming from a small ship or large escape pod that's in a slowly decaying orbit around Gemta. If we don't do something, any crew onboard are going to be dead in. thirty minutes!"  
" Rosie, what are the life sign readings on the ship?" Goddard barked.  
" One life sign, very faint. Commander, the reading is human," Rosie exclaimed in surprise.  
" Then let's get close enough we can pick the person up and get anything from the ship. T.H.E.L.M.A., Miss Davenport, stay here and watch for any sign of Spung. Rosie, I'm going to need you to come with us and take this person to the med lab. Bova, Harlan, Radu, you're with me and we're going to take any of the supplies and personal things off the ship in case Suzee can't get the ship up from the atmosphere. Okay, team, we've got our assignments. Let's move, move!" Goddard barked.  
  
Mere minutes later, Rosie was healing the person in the med lab. He had Caucasian skin and dark hair. Rosie couldn't see the eyes yet, as they were still closed. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Harlan, Bova, Radu, and Commander Goddard had found the ship very empty except for small music chips in one drawer. Everything else was in the data files Suzee had already sent back to the Christa, and now Suzee was alone on the ship trying to get it out of the gas giant, but having little success. Rosie was now trying to save the young teen.  
" Commander, he's got a small amount of radiation poisoning, but the majority of his injuries are from an explosion of the front console in his ship," Rosie reported.  
" Well, that explains the scorch marks on the console here," Suzee said over the ship-to-ship communication array.  
" I think I've got enough resources over here I can save him without any help, but I'm not certain," Rosie said as she gave the teen another once over with the scanner.  
" Commander, the ship is running on low power. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the ship has like no power source," Suzee reported. Rosie heard a groan from the teen.  
" Commander, it sounds like my patient is waking up," Rosie stated.  
" Alright, I'll be right there," Goddard said. The teen's eyes opened slowly. They were ice blue. Rosie walked around from behind the chair. " Hi! I'm Rosie Ianni." She smiled and waved.  
" You're. Mercurian?" the teen groaned, " But. there weren't. any Mercurians on the. colony."  
" Colony?" Rosie asked as Commander Goddard entered.  
" I'm Commander Seth Goddard."  
" Terrien Walker." " What happened?" Goddard asked as Rosie began to take care of a few more of Terrien's injuries. " I was part of a group of people going to start a colony on a planet a few light years from Gemta. Our colony ship was attacked by the Spung. We used some of our light armaments to cripple one, but we were losing. Then the scout vessels suddenly self-destructed- except for one. It ran, but not before firing a shot at our engines. We had an engine core breach. The captain ordered us to abandon ship and we'd rendezvous on a nearby planet. It was supposedly simple. But what we didn't count on was an automated weapon system from one of the Spung ships blasting at every escape pod. I tried to escape from one blast, but it blasted my hull. It caused an explosion at my console, and I lost consciousness. Seth Goddard? But, you were stationed at Starcademy?" Terrien asked.  
" I haven't been at Starcademy in a year. How long were you and the colony ship out?" " About six years, give or take. My parents were onboard. Do you know where they are?"  
" I'm afraid we didn't pass any habitable planets on our way to the location of where a message in a bottle had coordinates for Gemta."  
" Then. that means that. my family and friends are all gone," Terrien gasped.  
" I'm sorry. But, right now, we're trying to save your escape pod. The odd thing is, it doesn't resemble anything that we know of that Earth has used."  
" That's because we were using a mixture of Human, Mercurian, Saturnian, Uranusian, and Andromedan technology to see if we could get to our destination faster. But all it did was create a new type of engine trail. We hoped it would be okay for us to use as our engine supply. But all it did was convince the Spung that the humans were developing a weapon to use against them." Goddard sighed.  
" Look, I know you're upset about everything that's happened, but I could use some help salvaging your pod."  
" I've had losses before. Working on something help keep my mind off of them."  
" Good. Rosie, prognosis?"  
" The radiation poisoning is minor. As for the explosion, I think that time would be the best healer of that. If after we get his ship, he stays onboard the Christa and spends good time with the arms and receives regular heat therapy from me, then I don't see anything wrong with him working on his pod. But I want him to spend a little time in the bunk room before he goes to work," Rosie reported. Goddard nodded and Harlan escorted the new crewman to the boys bunkroom.  
" Why did you tell him to do that?" Goddard asked.  
" If he's alone, he can spend a little time figuring out how to cope," Rosie replied.  
" Will he be able to work on his pod?"  
" I think so."  
" Good, because we're going to need as much help as we can get if we're going to save his pod."  
  
" Here's the guys bunkroom," Harlan said.  
" Thanks. Uh, can I have a few minutes of privacy?" Terrien asked. Harlan nodded, and walked out. Then the tears came.  
  
Harlan heard Terrien's sobs over the loss, and remembered how it was when he lost his father. Stardog Ellison Band, lost during the war, his body returned to UPP. Harlan's mother shooed him out of the exam room where the corpse of his father lay. That night, young Harlan snuck into the exam room, and saw a mess of flesh and blood, a vivid reminder of Spung cruelty. The first words he heard about the corpse were 'Andromedan.' Harlan had vowed to himself to see the Andromedans pay for it. Now he knew the Spung had ordered the Andromedans to do it or they would have destroyed an entire generation of Andromedans, Radu, his best friend, included. A single tear rolled down Harlan's cheek as he remembered the nauseating experience. Five, ten, eleven minutes passed before Terrien emerged, red-eyed and weary, but seemingly ready for work.  
  
Suzee and Terrien were alone on the pod, since Harlan, Radu, and Bova got too confused with all of Terrien's technobabble.  
" So, how'd you end up with these guys?" Terrien asked as he reconnected some wires into their sockets.  
" Why do you think I wasn't with this guys from the beginning?" Suzee asked.  
" I've seen the looks those two were giving in the eyes of people with some of my friends before I left on the colony ship. They were the kind of looks that guys give girls they have little clue about but want so much more that clues, if you know what I mean," Terrien chuckled.  
" Well, in a sense I've always been with them, it's just, for the first half year, I was invisible to them, but due to an explosion, one of their crew, and my best friend, was transferred to my dimension and I got trapped here," Suzee explained.  
" And, let me guess: They've been fighting for a date from you," Terrien smiled as he pulled himself up from below the console.  
" Close enough, anyway. So, what's the prognosis, Ship Doctor?" Suzee asked.  
" Well, we can salvage components here and there, but this ship is a goner," Terrien sighed. Suddenly the ship was rocked.  
" Suzee, Terrien, the pod is falling almost too far into Gemta's atmosphere. Get back to the ship and let's go!" Goddard ordered.  
" Right! Guess we can't salvage those components now," Suzee stated.  
" Well, let's just try and salvage our lives," Terrien cried as the two ran through the walkway.  
" Commander, we're in. Go! Go!" Suzee cried.  
  
" Band, let's go!" Goddard ordered.  
" We're outta here," Harlan said as he pumped the engine resources to a limit and sent the ship hurling towards the relaxation planet as the pod exploded.  
  
A few hours later, the crew was on the planet awaiting Cat's return to their dimension.  
" Terrien, I know we can't replace your family, but, we'd like you to join our quest back home," Goddard sighed to the young teen.  
" I do have an aunt back on Earth, so, Commander, you've got a new passenger," Terrien smiled as a flash of light appeared in front of the Starcademy cadets and Catalina appeared in front of them.  
" Cat!" Harlan, Rosie, and Suzee cried.  
" Hey, guys!" Cat cried, " I bet you don't think Suzee's imaginary any more, Harlan."  
" I'm betting he doesn't," Terrien chuckled, then took a good look at Cat. He gave a wolf whistle.  
" Who's this?" Cat asked.  
" I'm Terrien Walker," Terrien said.  
" Oh great. Now we're in trouble. He's hitting on Cat," Bova chuckled.  
" Thelma?" Cat said, looking at the gray outfit the human-emulating machine had worn since the crash.  
" It happened when we crashed on that planet. Now, we should probably either get back on board or spend a few days here on the planet," Harlan chuckled.  
" I haven't relaxed in a place that's semi-like home in months. Let's stay a few days," Cat sighed.  
" Good chance for me to get to know you, Cat," Terrien chuckled. 


	2. A Learning Experience

It was another day on the Christa, and Terrien was examining the records of the crew.  
" Hey! Terrien!" Harlen called.  
" Oh, yeah Harlen?" Terrien asked.  
" Could you pass me the hypotool?" Harlen asked.  
" Sure. Catch," Terrien said, tossing Harlen the instrument. Harlen caught it.  
" Thanks, man," Harlen said. He was working on a new project for Miss Davenport's class.  
" So, now that Cat's back on board, how do you think the ship will be different?" Terrien asked.  
" Well, Radu will need a pair of earmuffs, that's for sure," Harlen chuckled.  
" Oh, yeah, the Andromedan hearing thing and the Saturnian sonic scream thing," Terrien said, " What are the chances we'll run into the Spung any time on our journey?" " Pretty good. Unfortunately," Harlan said. " I guess you're right. I mean, it's not very likely that they are going to let us get away with destroying three of their Killcrusiers or trapping Warlord Shank on Pezu's station."  
" You have a point there man," Harlen said.  
  
Cat and Suzee walked through one of the corridors of the Christa.  
" Cat, I can't believe we're finally both in the same dimension," Suzee smiled.  
" I know. It's amazing. I bet they don't think you're imaginary anymore, huh?" Cat smiled.  
" You've said that a lot, mainly to Harlen," Suzee said slyly.  
" Don't forget Miss Davenport. They were the ones who firmly thought you weren't real."  
" Hmm, true. So, how's it going with Terrien and you?" Suzee asked.  
" What do you mean?" Cat asked.  
" I see the way you two have looked at each other since you got back," Suzee smiled.  
" Oh, and you kissing Harlen and Radu didn't give you those looks for a while?"  
" You kissed? Give me the details!"  
" We have not kissed!" Cat cried.  
" Uh huh. Well, what if I call up Terrien and-"  
" Don't you dare!" Cat said. Suzee yanked the compupad out of Cat's hand. " Suzee! Give me that back!" As the two ran off, they nearly bumped into Radu and Bova.  
" What's going on here?" Radu asked.  
" We were messing around, Radu," Suzee said.  
" And what makes you think we have to respond to you Radu?" Cat asked, folding her arms.  
" Just curious. I mean, Bova and I were about to go check and see if this nebula we picked up on sensors had the right kind of matter for us to use for some engine fuel," Radu said, " And we needed to head down to the MedLab to get some containers from Rosie in the medical bay."  
" Oh. Okay," Cat said. She then grabbed the comm unit out of Suzee's hands and hit a control on the jump tube.  
" Excuse me. I have a Saturnian to kill," Suzee said, and jumped after Cat.  
  
T.J. Davenport arrived on the comm post.  
" Commander? Commander Goddard? Are you here?" she asked. The Commander rolled out from under a console.  
" What is it, Miss Davenport?" Goddard asked.  
" Commander, I'm not sure that this Terrien Walker is an appropriate addition to our crew," Davenport said.  
" Missed your class today, didn't he?" Goddard asked.  
" Yes," Davenport sighed.  
" He was with Thelma during classes today. They were busy with a few things that might help improve our chances if we run across the Spung again," Goddard said.  
" Commander, I think that you are seeing way too much of yourself in young Mr. Walker. If you think that I do not see him as another student, you are very wrong," Davenport growled.  
" I'm sorry, what was that?" Goddard asked. Davenport growled. " Miss Davenport, Terrien is being very helpful with us right now, and it's probably best if we allow him some time to adjust. Not to mention he's just lost several people dear to him. The grief and impact of it probably haven't completely set in with him yet. Give him time," Goddard sighed. Davenport glared at Goddard for another couple of seconds then stormed out in frustration. Goddard chuckled. Grabbing a comm device, he turned it on. " Cat, Terrien, could you come up to the Command Post?" he asked. Moments later, the human and Saturnian came through the jump tubes.  
" You wanted to see us, Commander? Cat asked.  
" Yes. I wanted to know if there was anything you could do to help me figure out just how to find any weapons on the Christa like there were on her sister ship. Cat, do you remember anything from the blueprints you and Harlan found?" Goddard asked.  
" I'll coordinate with Harlan to figure it out," Cat said.  
" Good. Terrien, you and Thelma were going over the blueprints of your ship and the Christa. What did you find?" Goddard asked.  
" Nothing, Commander. My colony ship with completely inorganic, and when mixed in with the Christa's components, at the very least, it would end up injuring the ship, or maybe even killing her. And if we ever ran across the Lumanians, they might get angry and use ships with weapon capabilities like the ones that the other ship had, destroying us. Or we could be stranded," Terrien sighed.  
" All right. Well, maybe we should begin researching everything in the ship's database, see if we can find anything that will help us," Goddard suggested.  
" Commander, I was thinking, maybe the alterations to the ship that occurred when you crashed might have an effect on the working of certain systems. I mean, you saw how Thelma was affected," Terrien suggested.  
" No, she was always like that," Goddard said. Terrien chuckled.  
" I meant how her appearance changed," Terrien said.  
" Oh. Well, we can investigate that and-" Goddard was interrupted by a proximity alarm. " Uh oh." Goddard turned on the communications systems. " Radu, Bova, the investigating mission is canceled. Everyone, report to your battle stations. There is a Spung Killcrusier on long range sensors," Goddard barked. Cat ran to the science station Suzee had often helmed while Terrien punched in med lab in the jump tubes to get an emergency kit. Harlen, Radu, and Bova came in by the jumptubes and Davenport and Thelma arrived from the corridor.  
" Commander, what is the cruiser doing?" Davenport asked.  
" It looks like it's. it's launching a pod?" Cat asked, surprised.  
" Commander, they're hailing us," Radu said as Terrien reached the ComPost with the med kit.  
" Screen on," Goddard said. The lizard-like appearance of a Spung appeared on the screen.  
" Commander Goddard, I presume?" he asked.  
" That's right," Goddard growled.  
" I am Krill of the Spung Revisionist Community," the Spung said.  
" The what?" Goddard asked.  
" The Spung Revisionist Community. I'm not surprised you have not heard of it, as our government attempts to keep it under wraps. We are a group of Spung who wish to change our government's standing with the UPP. We wish for peace, not warfare," Krill said.  
" That would explain the lack of the title 'Warlord,'" Terrien said, but he sounded suspicious.  
" Commander Goddard, our leader has requested to be transported to the UPP with you. This is also to insure that should the rest of us fall, the Revisionists shall not," Krill said.  
" Who is your leader?" Goddard asked.  
" They will dock with you soon. You shall see. Good day, Commander," Krill said. He killed the connection.  
" Wait, we didn't-" Goddard had started.  
" Commander, we can't just let a Spung come on board without our permission!" Davenport cried.  
" Do not worry, Miss Davenport. The Christa is an excellent judge of character. She will decide if the Spung is not going to harm us," Thelma. said.  
" Be that as it may, Band, Radu, head down to the airlock and meet our. guest," Goddard ordered. Harlan and Radu nodded and punched in the airlock code in the jumptubes.  
  
Radu and Harlan ran down the hall to the airlock.  
" I don't get it. Why would any Spung want to be here with us?" Harlan asked Radu.  
" I don't know," Radu said. Before either one could say anything else, the airlock began to open. All Radu saw was the bright red hair.  
" Hello Harlan Band. Hello Radu," Elmira said. The Spung psychic was waiting apparently for an invitation to come on board.  
" Elmira!" Radu cried. He ran towards the young Spung and grabbed her in a bear hug, though being careful not to harm her. Harlan had to jump back as Radu wheeled Elmira around, almost allowing Elmira's Spung tail to knock Harlan to the ground. Harlan then grabbed a mike from the wall and called up the ComPost.  
" Commander, the Spung is friendly. And Radu is happy to see her," Harlan said.  
  
" Her... Elmira?" Goddard asked, surprised.  
" The Christa is an excellent judge of character," Thelma said helpfully.  
" So I've heard, Thelma," Davenport said, annoyed.  
" Mr. Band, Mr. Radu, please escort Miss Elmira to the Command Post," Goddard ordered.  
" On our way," Harlan said.  
" Who's Elmira?" Terrien asked.  
" A Spung fortune teller, and the daughter of Warlord Shank," Goddard explained.  
" Shank? Warlord Shank? I remember hearing he was in charge of the attack fleet that destroyed the colony ship! And you're just letting his daughter come onboard our ship?" Terrien cried.  
" She has a previous record with us. She helped us escape Warlord Shank's Killcruiser. And he somehow disabled her abilities when we discovered the Christa's sister ship," Goddard said.  
" And she sent a psychic message to Radu, warning him that the Spung were coming to destroy the Christa while we were stranded on the alien planet," Rosie added.  
" But, Commander-"  
" Mr. Walker, Elmira has proven her worth to this crew in the past. She can be trusted, and she will be given the same amount of respect as you would give to me. Is that clear?" Goddard barked.  
" Yes, Commander," Terrien sighed.  
" Commander, if this is all, should we stand down from red alert?" Cat asked.  
" Right. Mr. Walker, perhaps it would be best if you went and followed in with what our plans were before the Spung arrived," Goddard said.  
" Yes, sir," Terrien mumbled. He headed down the jumptubes just as Elmira, Harlen, and Radu arrived through the doors.  
  
" Who does this Spung think she is, coming on board with no warning," Terrien muttered, pulling up something out of the database at random. His anger at Elmira suddenly left his mind. " What in the..." Suddenly, the ship rocked.  
" Battlestations! This is not a drill!" Goddard barked.  
  
" What is that?" Goddard asked.  
" It resembles a Spung Super Killcruiser," Thelma said matter-of- factly.  
" A Super Killcruiser?" Cat cried.  
" Rumors were flying around near the end of the war about Super Killcrusiers, but that's all the UPP thought they were- Rumors," Goddard said.  
" Well, we can confirm that for the UPP- After being blown up to oblivion!" Davenport cried.  
" Sending a message to the UPP after being blown up is a physical impossibility, Miss Davenport," Thelma said calmly.  
" How very reassuring," Bova said.  
" Band, keep us one step ahead of them. Cat, where's Krill's Killcruiser?" Goddard barked. Before Cat could say anything, there was a blinding flash of light. When it died down, the Super Killcruiser was blasting at a debris field.  
" If I had to guess, I'd say that the Super Killcruiser is finishing it off now," Cat sighed.  
" And we're probably going to be next," Bova said.  
" Not helping," Goddard growled. " Suzee, can we make a hyperspace jump?" he called down to the engine room.  
" Not for another ten minutes," Suzee grumbled.  
" We'll be a debris field by then!" Radu cried.  
" Perhaps I can assist you," Elmira said, " As there are a few female Warlords in the Spung hierarchy."  
" Any Spung Warlord would know that you're Warlord Shank's daughter," Goddard brought up.  
" Do we have much choice, Commander?" Rosie asked. Goddard paused to look at the Super Killcruiser, nearing the complete destruction of the debris field.  
" All right. Thelma, try and synthesize a Warlord uniform for Elmira," Goddard ordered.  
" Yes, Commander," the android said and shook as she began synthesizing the outfit, which she promptly began to pull out of her mouth.  
" How does all that fit in there?" Harlan asked, turning away. Thelma finished and, with a smile, gave the outfit to Elmira, which she took with a slight grimace. Elmira walked out into the hall to change. Thelma pointed to the Super Killcruiser.  
" Danger, Harlen Band. Danger," she said, motioning to a frag torpedo the Killcruiser had just fired.  
" Whoa!" Harlan said, turning the ship harshly to the right, barely avoiding the torpedo. Elmira entered, looking very dangerous in the Warlord outfit.  
" Elmira, please, stand in front of Mr. Band. Rosie, hail the Super Killcruiser. Everyone, try and look conquered," Goddard ordered. Thelma promptly knocked her activation crystal slightly out of its socket, turning her off. Davenport reached for it.  
" No, no. Leave her like that," Goddard said.  
" They're responding," Rosie said. A lizardly Spung face appeared on the screen.  
" I am Warlord Kram. You shall be-" Kram stopped when he spotted Elmira. " What?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.  
" I am Warlord Kricha. This vessel is under my command. You will cease fire and return to Spung space immediately," Elmira ordered. Kram glared at her, then smiled.  
" Nice try. You think I am not aware what the daughter of the Supreme Warlord Shank looks like? You will surrender or face the same fate as the ship we just eliminated. I give you... three of your minutes to think it over," Kram snickered. He pressed a button off screen, killing the feed.  
" Nice try," Goddard said. " Suzee, engine status?"  
" Give me three and a half minutes, and we'll be out of here," Suzee replied.  
" Band, Kram will be back on in a few minutes. Prepare for some fancy flying in case I can't hold him off for the few seconds Suzee will need to get us out of here," Goddard ordered.  
" I'm on it, Commander," Harlan said. What was left of the three minutes flew by. Kram's image reappeared.  
" Well. Have you decided to surrender to me?" Kram snickered.  
" We... need some time to get our affairs in order," Goddard said.  
" You will stop stalling and surrender or we will destroy you," Kram growled.  
" You wouldn't dare, not with the daughter of Warlord Shank on board!" Radu cried.  
" Warlord Shank has declared her a 'casualty of the war with the United Populated Planets.'" Kram snickered.  
" What war?" Goddard growled.  
" The one that will start with your deaths," Kram cackled, ending the link.  
" Suzee..." Goddard started.  
" Harlan, it's time to put those piloting skills you boast about to the test," Suzee said.  
" We're outta here," Harlan smiled. The Christa rocketed away as Kram's Super Killcruiser fired a frag torpedo.  
  
" Commander, we've got to talk," Terrien said, coming up across Goddard as he walked towards his room.  
" Mr. Walker, I've got to help assess the damage the Super Killcruiser inflicted on us. So, if it's not absolutely important-"  
" But Commander, I may have figured out something about the ship," Terrien said. Goddard stopped in his tracks.  
" What?"  
" Or... something like that. I unintentionally accessed while... uh... I was mad at Elmira, who I understand tried to help us out against the Spung-"  
" The point, Mr. Walker?"  
" Oh. Right. The Christa was built by the Lumanians, as you know- but only two years ago! Commander, there is a complete database of Lumanian ships here, and the one the Christa encountered was a year and a half older. When the ship crashed on that planet, it reset the ship's biological clock. Sir, the ship is the reason the Spung want us: They've captured Lumania and want all its technology for themselves." 


	3. Secrets And Lies

" Mr. Walker, you realize what you've just explained to me, don't you?" Goddard asked.  
" Barely, Commander. I, uh, was failing most of my classes on the colony ship," Terrien said with a wince.  
" No better than any of the other hired help around here," Goddard muttered under his breath.  
" Excuse me, sir?" Terrien asked, confused.  
" Never mind. Thelma!" Goddard cried. The android appeared behind him.  
" Yes, Commander?" Thelma asked, innocent as ever. Goddard jumped.  
" T.H.E.L.M.A., Mr. Walker says he discovered a file that told the launch dates of every Lumanian ship, including the Christa. Do your databanks include that information?" the Commander asked. Thelma checked her databanks.  
" Hmm, odd. This morning there was no file on anything involving the background of the Christa. Now, there are multiple files, all dating back to... before my activation," Thelma said. Goddard jumped onto her statement by grabbing a comm device.  
" All hands, report to the Command Post!" Goddard barked, rushing off to the Command Post, with Terrien right on his heels.  
" Was it something I said?" Thelma asked.  
  
" Commander, what is the cause for alarm this time?" Davenport asked, exasperated.  
" Mr. Walker and T.H.E.L.M.A. have discovered a HIGH amount of data on the ship, and I think we need to download into a separate database where we can access them at any time," Goddard said. The rest of the crew stared at Goddard and Terrien in shock.  
  
" He's only been here a week, and he's discovered info we never knew existed?" Suzee muttered.  
" Suzee!" Cat cried.  
" Sorry, Cat. I can't help it. It's just that-"  
" That he's come on board and done something you can't. Suzee, could you please start trying to get along with more of the crew? They think you're a little arrogant. And, a jerk," Cat sighed.  
" What?" Suzee asked.  
" Suzee, you fight with everybody and you're really too sarcastic for a Yensidian. I should know, I spent half a year with them. Which reminds me... Do you think I should give Elmira my purse?" Cat asked.  
" Why?" Suzee growled.  
" Well, I made a purse out of her dad's arm, the one he had wrapped around me," Cat smiled. Suzee suddenly, and uncharacteristically, giggled. Cat gaped.  
  
" Hey, Harlan, remember that message we got from our future selves?" Radu asked.  
" Yeah. That was one weird experience," Harlan chuckled, tugging at his Starcademy uniform. His other outfit had been severely maimed during a routine scan of the Christa's storage bays.  
" Well, I was wondering, why weren't you in it?" Radu asked. Harlan pondered that.  
" Maybe I was simply unable to be there at the time," Harlan said.  
" Or... maybe you were killed," Radu said. Harlan scoffed, and walked out, muttering,  
" Crazy Andromedan."  
" I heard that!" Radu called.  
" How could you not," Harlan muttered, softer and further down the hall.  
" I heard that too!"  
  
" This information is incredible. It has all the information we've been looking for for the past year!" Goddard exclaimed.  
" Look at this. Commander, I think I found the ship's blueprints," Suzee said. The group consisting of Goddard, Suzee, Davenport, Cat, Terrien, and Rosie gathered around as Suzee gave the 'Screen on' command. A map of the ship appeared on the wall. Cat pointed to a point near the bottom of the ship's 'nose.'  
" I think I remember a weapons port that was supposed to be around there," Cat said.  
" Cat, Terrien, go check it out," Goddard barked. Terrien and Cat nodded.  
" Thelma," Cat called. The android appeared in front of her.  
" Yes?" she asked.  
" Thelma, Terrien and I need the punch-in codes for this room," Cat said, pointing to the room she'd mentioned. The android nodded and punched in the proper code on the jumptube control. Cat and Suzee went down through.  
" Thelma, what do the records say about this area of the ship?" Goddard asked, pointed to a rather empty part of the blueprint.  
" There are no jumptubes that are currently connected there, and the internal sensors are offline there," Thelma said.  
" Rosie, get Mr. Radu and head down there," Goddard ordered. Rosie nodded and walked out.  
" Commander, I must ask. Why didn't we investigate the ship this thoroughly before?" Davenport asked. Goddard thought for a minute.  
" Because we had several other pressing matters on our minds, such as getting home faster," Goddard said, but it was obvious he was truly unsure as to why they never examined the ship that well as they were then. Davenport, however, accepted the answer. She walked out, muttering about how her lesson plan was severely lacking due to this 'distraction.'  
" Commander, I can't seem to figure out anything in this area of the ship. The scanners are on, but internal monitors are offline," Suzee said.  
" I'll check it out. In the meantime, Suzee, I think we need to make sure we've got all our systems in working order. We're finally out of the main Spung space lanes, and I'd like to get everything in working order. Head down to the main engine room and check things out," Goddard ordered.  
" Yes, Commander," Suzee said. She didn't talk back. As she walked out of the team room, Goddard stared after her.  
This being friendly stuff is actually pretty fun, she thought.  
  
Suzee had never been in this engine room herself. She'd been here occasionally with Cat when she'd been stuck on Yensid, but she'd never come here in person. It did seem like the heart of the ship, even in appearance.  
  
" Hmm, this is interesting. It feels a lot like my sister's room," Suzee whispered to herself. She began working on the systems checks.  
  
Cat and Terrien arrived through the jump tubes in the dark room. Automatically, the Christa adjusted the lighting to comfortable levels.  
" Wow. This is nothing like anything else on the ship," Cat gasped.  
" I wouldn't know," Terrien chuckled. This wasn't the weapons room they'd thought it was. Instead, it was a giant room that was randomly altering its appearance.  
" What is it?" Cat asked.  
" Off hand, I'd say it some kind of holographic environment. Like a training room," Terrien suggested.  
" Then where would the weapons systems be?" Cat asked.  
" No idea. But maybe we should-" The ship suddenly rocked. Cat and Terrien glanced at each other for an instant, then ran for the jump tubes, hitting the command post code on the way down.  
  
" Band! What's going on?" Goddard ordered, storming into the Command Post.  
" I don't know Commander. The ship just started rocking. I'm not doing anything!" Harlan cried.  
" He's right. I'm looking at a readout here in the engine room, and it seems to be that this is natural to the ship," Suzee called from the engine room.  
" Natural?" Goddard asked.  
" Yeah, like how the ship's biological clock was reset by the crash," Terrien piped.  
" So, what is it you're saying, that the ship is... growing up?" Goddard asked.  
" Believe it or not, Commander, but that might be the most apt name for it. I can't seem to figure out any other way for it to be explained," Suzee said.  
" Great," Goddard activated a comm device. " All hands to the Command Post," he ordered. Within moments everyone but Rosie and Radu were on the Command Post.  
" Where's Rosie and Radu?" Suzee asked.  
" They probably fell through some kind of hole in the ship and got themselves killed," Bova muttered.  
" Bova..." Cat warned.  
" I'm just giving the most likely conclusion. Otherwise they would have come to the Command Post," Bova said.  
" Bova..." Harlan growled.  
" It's only logical," Bova said.  
" Bova..." Goddard, Terrien, Davenport, Cat, Harlan, and Suzee growled.  
" It's the most likely possibility," Bova said.  
" Bova, shut up," Goddard, Terrien, Davenport, Cat, Harlan, and Suzee growled.  
" Is he always that... pestering?" Terrien muttered.  
" Usually," Suzee said.  
" Thelma? Escort Mr. Walker, Bova, and Suzee down to the empty section," Goddard ordered. Thelma nodded.  
" Commander Goddard, I'd like to accompany them," Elmira said, " Radu is very important to me."  
" Go," Goddard nodded. The search team walked off.  
" Commander, are we in any danger from this... shake-up or... growing up, or whatever it is?" Davenport asked.  
" Cat? You and Suzee are supposed to be engineering geniuses," Goddard said, turning to the Saturnian.  
" By Suzee's estimates, I think we're safe from any harm. There might be a small radiation spike, but it shouldn't be any problem," Cat said from the engineering console.  
  
Thelma used her finger light to light the way through the dark room.  
" I got one word for this place: Spooky," Terrien muttered.  
" I heard that," Suzee said, knocking down a cobweb. They waited for a sarcastic comment from Bova. It never came.  
" Bova? Bova?" Terrien cried, turning his flashlight to where Bova had last been. There was no sign of the Uranusian or Elmira anywhere.  
" I think the spookiness in here just reached a ten," Terrien said. Thelma's light vanished from sight.  
" Why don't I like the way this is going?" Suzee said.  
" Maybe because Radu, Rosie, Bova, Elmira, and Thelma are gone," Terrien said.  
" Okay. We've got to stick together. Whatever this is that's taking the others away, it's only doing it when we're separated," Terrien said.  
" Right. Which way do we go?" Suzee asked. Terrien didn't answer. " Oh no," Suzee gasped.  
  
An hour passed, then another. Soon, the ship stopped rocking.  
" Cat, what's our status?" Goddard asked.  
" I think the ship is done with its aging. I'm going to try to get an image of what the ship looks like now. Screen on," Cat said. The image promptly appeared. The ship had gone from the techno gray to a pumpkin color, and small fins, large enough for the whole crew to assemble comfortably, but not enough for a ship to land in, other than the Starlings, had formed.  
" It almost looks as if the ship has almost completely 'healed' itself from the crash," Harlan said.  
" That sounds as apt as anything we can get. Now, what about our search team? Shouldn't they have reported in by now?" Cat asked.  
" Thelma!" Goddard called. She didn't appear. Harlan, Goddard, and Cat ran off in the direction that the others had gone off in.  
" Please be careful, people," Davenport called after them.  
  
" Okay, Suzee. Think. You are stuck in an unexplored section of the Christa, one of your best friends, and some very good friends are missing. What do you do," Suzee said to herself. " Probably, stop talking to yourself," she muttered. She suddenly heard whispering voices. " Radu? Rosie? Terrien? Elmira? Bova? Thelma?" she called. The whispering increased. Suzee could make out a couple of words, but not enough to go on. " Is anyone here?" she called. Suddenly, the lights increased to comfortable levels. Suzee saw a form hovering over the unconscious- or in Thelma's, who now had an appearance nearing that of what it was for about five minutes after her arrival in Cat's dimension, only a little more yellow than orange, case, offline- forms of her friends. The creature was vaguely humanoid, but with tentacles instead of hands or arms. It had a Lumanian-ish face, but it seemed twisted in a sinister grin. " Hey!" she cried. The creature turned to face her, and Suzee grabbed her chance. She made eye contact with the creature and pitched her consciousness into its mind. She was in it for several seconds, and pitched back right when Goddard, Harlan, and Cat burst in the room.  
" Suzee!" Harlan cried.  
" Wait! Stand back," Cat ordered. She inhaled and let loose a sonic scream, which blew the creature back into a wall, knocking it unconscious and woke Radu.  
" Huh... wha..." he groaned.  
" Mr. Radu," Goddard said, and he and Harlan lifted Radu up. " Suzee, what's going on?" Goddard barked.  
" That... creature... it's the original crew of the Christa," Suzee said. Goddard turned to look at her.  
" What?" he asked, while Harlan and Cat attempted to wake the others.  
" Commander, that... thing... was the crew sent to escort the Christa to Earth, in an attempt to receive assistance for the Spung occupation of Lumania. But when some creature began absorbing them, they had to alter their plans by deactivating Thelma, who was designed to help interact with the UPP, hoping that the creature wouldn't absorb her knowledge of where Lumania is, and they set it for the Starcademy, hoping that some students would reactivate Thelma with the knowledge she carried, then they cut off this section of the ship with themselves and the creature," Suzee explained.  
" That... is a Lumanian?" Goddard asked, pointing at the crumpled mass.  
" It was. It has been bonded with the creature for almost two years. It would be impossible for us to separate them, even if we were at the medical facility at Taust Ti," Suzee said, as Terrien, Rosie, and Bova stirred.  
" Ugh... did anyone catch the broadcast ID number of the transport that ran me down?" Terrien grumbled.  
" C'mon, get up," Harlan muttered.  
" So, what do we do with it... them... it... whatever it is," Goddard asked.  
" We've got three choices. We can kill it-"  
" Kill it?"  
" Commander, those beings have been in an endless pain since they were absorbed. It would be a mercy killing," Suzee said.  
" Stardogs don't do any killing- mercy or otherwise- unless there is no choice," Goddard warned.  
" Okay, we can't kill it. However, we can leave it here where it can become a hazard or we find a planet and leave it there," Suzee said.  
" All of the choices are leaving a bad taste in my mouth here. Killing it is against Stardog policy, we can't leave a potentially dangerous creature on board, and we don't know if any of the planets we're close to are viable for any kind of life," Goddard sighed as Harlan popped the crystal that powered Thelma back into place and Radu helped Elmira up.  
" Thelma, can you think of anything that we can do with this creature?" Suzee asked.  
" According to the Christa's scanning equipment, the only viable option is to... eliminate the creature," Thelma said.  
" That's... inhumane," Goddard said.  
" Commander, what is inhumane is allowing this creature to continue its painful existence. It obviously-" Suzee was interrupted by a roar from the creature. Goddard, Suzee, and Thelma stood, stunned. The creature wrapped a tentacle around Goddard.  
" Radu, that... 'do not harm the creature' order? Consider it rescinded," Goddard got out, as strangled as it was. Radu leapt up and pried Goddard out of its grip. Cat, Bova, and Rosie jumped into action. Cat let loose a sonic scream while Bova and Rosie let loose their electrical and heat powers. The creature roared in pain, then exploded, sending out slimy goo that covered the whole crew.  
" Well. That solves that problem," Suzee sighed.  
  
Later on, the crew stood at the Command Post.  
" I wish there had been another way to take that creature out. I've never killed another living being in my life," Rosie said.  
" Rosie, I was able to feel its feeling in the last second of its life. It was happy. Happy that it was being released from the prison it had been in for years," Elmira said.  
" So we were doing it a favor by killing it?" Cat asked.  
" That's what I'd been saying. I understand what the Commander had been saying, but when I'd pitched into the creature's mind, I 'met' the leader of the Lumanians. He and his crew were in a permanent pain. It was a relief for them to finally pass on," Suzee said.  
" Well, either way, I'm glad you guys got us outta there before it absorbed us," Terrien chuckled. Then he picked out a last bit of goo from his hair. " Though I swear this gunk is still in my uniform."  
" At least you don't have to worry about cleaning antennae," Bova muttered. Goddard and Davenport entered.  
" All right, crew. We've set up a mini-database in the Dark Room. Mr. Band, since the ship has settled down, set a course for home," Goddard ordered. Harlan smiled and keyed in the appropriate coordinates. The ship flew in the direction of Sol. 


	4. The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

" Commander, I'm picking up some kind of signal. It's on an old Earth frequency," Terrien said from the communication console.  
" Old Earth?" Goddard asked.  
" It predates the UPP by a year or two," Terrien said. He and Goddard were manning the midnight shift.  
" Then they could be refugee ships from the war," Goddard suggested.  
" Refugees?" Terrien asked.  
" Yes. There were several people who believed that the Spung were going to win during one of the low points of the war, and they slaved their ships together and made a blind hyperspace jump. The UPP was formed and they didn't focus on them, as they weren't as worried about refugees as they were about Spung revenge," Goddard explained. He hit a comm device. " All hands to the Command Post," he ordered.  
  
Harlan rolled over and checked the chrono.  
" What is the Commander doing, calling at 0400?" he muttered.  
" I don't know, but whatever it is, it'll probably destroy us," Bova muttered. Harlan threw his pillow at the Uranusian.  
" No, the Commander and Terrien... they're talking about some... refugee ships they discovered," Radu said.  
" You and those ears," Harlan muttered, before getting out of bed. Goddard's voice came back over the intercom.  
" Mr. Band, that means you," his voice growled.  
" How does he do that? Is he part Andromedan?" Harlan muttered.  
" Probably," Bova murmured.  
  
Thirty minutes after Goddard's first announcement, the crew had assembled.  
" Commander Goddard, this had better be good," Davenport growled as she came through the door with her mud mask on. Harlan, Goddard, Terrien, Radu, and Cat had the same reaction: They jumped, then began to snicker.  
" Miss Davenport, are you... ill?" T.H.E.L.M.A. asked. Davenport looked at her for a second, then remembered her mud mask.  
" From now on, I expect ample warning," she growled.  
" Commander, we're within visual range of the refugee ships," Terrien said.  
" Hail the lead vessel," Goddard ordered.  
" They're responding," Terrien said, then delegated the communication post to Rosie.  
" Screen on," Goddard ordered. The image of the young teen girl appeared.  
" Humans? This far in space? Are you refugees too?" she asked.  
" No. We're with the UPP- United Populated Planets," Goddard said. At the girl's confused look, he added, " Earth is a part of it."  
" Earth? Earth survived the war?" she asked. Goddard nodded. The girl was swept up in a wave of happiness. " Hold on, would you? I'll connect you with Commander Kinwon," she said. Her image vanished.  
" Commander Kinwon?" Terrien asked.  
" Apparently these refugees have wanted to put someone in charge and be able to differentiate them from anyone else," Goddard suggested. The image of a man in his mid- to late fifties appeared on the screen.  
" You are human!" he gasped. " When Tierra told me about it, I didn't dare believe it." Then, the man noticed Elmira and Radu.  
" Excuse me. Are you aware that there is a Spung and an Andromedan on your bridge?" he asked.  
" Mr. Radu and Miss Elmira are valued members of this crew. The war is over and the Andromedans are our allies," Goddard said.  
" And the Spung?"  
" Elmira is our guide to the territory. She is part of a group of Spung who wish for peace instead of warfare."  
" You'll pardon my paranoia, sir, but there have been a few. close scraps with the Spung since we left Earth. Perhaps when you visit our vessels before escorting us back to Earth, you should leave her on your-"  
" Excuse me, but did you say 'Escort you back to Earth?'" Goddard asked.  
" Yes. I presume you're testing some new engine technology or Earth's ring of influence has expanded," Kinwon said hopefully.  
" I'm afraid not, sir. We went through a disruption in space/time. As a result it threw us..." Goddard looked to Cat.  
" At the time we emerged from what we've dubbed the white circle, we calculated it would take us seven years, four months, and twenty-two days to get back to the Starcademy in the far edge of the Sol system," Cat said.  
" And, how long until you return?" Kinwon asked. The crew looked to Thelma.  
" Six years, nine months, and twelve days," she said. Kinwon suddenly seemed to age fifty years. " So you cannot return us to Earth," he sighed. " I'm afraid not, sir," Goddard said. Kinwon was silent for a minute then said,  
" Well, I would appreciate any assistance you may offer to us. You see, our systems are not in the best state of repair. Perhaps you could..."  
" Suzee?" Goddard asked.  
" Commander Quinwon, I'll be over to help your people in say... five hours?" she asked.  
" That sounds good. We're on a night cycle over here as well. Undoubtedly, it would be best for all concerned that we have our engineers well rested," Kinwon said.  
" Good. We'll contact you when we're ready. Screen off," Goddard said.  
" Well, that went well. Can we go back to sleep now?" Harlan asked.  
" Yes. Go back to the bunkrooms and get a bit of sleep," Goddard ordered.  
  
When Suzee entered the refugee flagship's engineering section, she was shocked by the state of disarray.  
" What went through here, a bunch of Spung shock troops?" she wondered out loud.  
" Close, but not quite," said someone behind her. She turned.  
" May I ask who you are?" Suzee asked.  
" The Winger's chief engineer," he said. " Most people call me Frankie or Engineer Thomas."  
" Charmed, I'm sure," Suzee said.  
" You must be from the ship my girlfriend discovered," Frankie said.  
" Your girlfriend?"  
" Tierra Arussa? About ye big, slightly ditzy, blonde hair, in charge of scanning during the night shift?" Frankie asked.  
" Oh. Her," Suzee said.  
" Yeah. Her," Frankie said. Suddenly, something ruptured. " Aw, dang it! That's the tank! It's releasing deadly gas into that section!" Frankie cried. He ran to get a gas mask for Suzee and himself.  
" Are there people in there?"  
" There's a repair crew over on the other side. But no one can survive a walk through there!"  
" I'll run," Suzee said, flipping the flaps over her gills so she could breathe. Within minutes she was able to seal off the flow of the gas long enough to evacuate the compartment. Frankie sealed it with a magnetic door. Then he looked at Suzee.  
" What are you?" he asked.  
" I'm a Yensidian. We developed gills on my world because there were a dangerous aspect in our air, killing those unable to breathe it. It's a nature evolution feature," she explained.  
" I don't care what you are. The people you saved owe their lives to you. You're welcome here anytime," Frankie said.  
  
" Suzee, your heroic actions saved the lives of five men, from what Engineer Thomas tells me," Kinwon said over the screen.  
" It was nothing, Commander Kinwon," Suzee said.  
" Nevertheless, we are even more in your crew's debt for this," Kinwon smiled. He deactivated the communications from his side.  
" Commander, I think you'd better come take a look at this scan. I just picked it up on long range scanners," Rosie reported. Goddard looked.  
" Spung," he nearly spat.  
" Not just any Spung. I'm able to get a look at her markings. It's the Super Killcruiser we ran into a little while back," Cat reported.  
" Battle stations! Rosie, hail Kinwon and inform him of this. development," Goddard said.  
  
On the bridge of the Spung Super Killcruiser T'Kay, Warlord Shank growled.  
" How long until we reach the alien ships-s-s-s-s?" he growled.  
" Approximately four hours," the pilot said, " but if we divert power from shields, it should only take one."  
" None of those ships have weapon sys-stems-s-s. Divert 75% shield strength to engines-s-s-s-s-s," growled Shank. Then he spotted the Christa.  
" Those infernal children! Do they not know to stay out of Warlord Shank's way yet?" he growled. " Once more they have changed their ship's colors, but it is still them. I will recognize them no matter where they go. Lieutenant Krage?"  
" Yes, my Warlord?"  
" Prepare a containment beam. We shall s-s-soon see who the better is- s-s-s-s-s," he hissed.  
  
" The Spung have increased their engine speed! They'll be here in approximately one hour!" Radu cried.  
" Anyone have any ideas?" Goddard asked.  
" If we had all the refugees go to a habitable planet, we could use the ships as mines, or ram them into the Killcruiser," Harlan suggested after a moments thought.  
" Not a bad idea, Mr. Band," Goddard smiled.  
" Not only are you thinking of escaping the Spung, you have remembered the refugees. However, I'm finding one flaw in your plan," Davenport said.  
" I see it too. What's stopping the Spung from returning and wiping out the colony down there?" Terrien asked.  
" Wait a minute. Suzee, exactly what system are we in?" Goddard asked.  
" Let me check." Suzee said, checking the star charts. " We're in the Kritan system."  
" Kritan. I thought I recognized this sector," Goddard muttered.  
" Commander, are you familiar with this area of space?" Davenport asked.  
" I fought on Kritan IV during the war. There was a network of underground caverns the Spung never were able to reach, even with a constant bombing. That should allow them to survive for at least twelve years. We had an underground biosphere with enough food to feed fifty troops for fifty years." Goddard received a few looks from that remark. " At the time we had no idea how long the war would last. We were planning for the worse. We left some auto-keepers down there that should have kept everything ready for a return, since we were suspicious about the treaty," Goddard said.  
" Why are we standing around here? We've got to evacuate the refugees!" Terrien said.  
  
There was pandemonium on the refugee ships. Frankie was in charge of getting people out of the engine room of the flagship. Suzee arrived to help.  
" Just in time. Kinwon just informed us. What can you do?" he asked.  
" I've got a few evac ideas. Can any ship land?" Suzee asked.  
" Just the Winger and a few other of the larger ships," Frankie said.  
" Good. Have them land immediately. It'll be a little quicker that way. What about the smaller ships?"  
" People are using those escape pods. Kinwon told them what to do in  
that case."  
" Good. Okay, any other thoughts?"  
" Just one. I was thinking that if we were abandoning the ships for a planet, I'd... prefer to stay in space. Could you use an extra pair of hands?" Frankie asked.  
" Don't you have a girlfriend here?"  
" Tierra would want to stay with me. It may look like I want to join your crew because of you, but I love Tierra. I just thought that from what I've gathered through the messages you sent to Kinwon that you've got a small crew," Frankie sighed.  
" I could use some help in the main engine room. I'm basically the only engineer on the ship, and there are two engine rooms."  
" Frankie!" Suzee and Frankie turned.  
" Tierra. Would you like to go to the. what's your ship called?" Frankie asked Suzee.  
" The Christa."  
" Would you like to join her crew?"  
" Are you?"  
" Yes."  
" I'll go wherever you go, Frankie. You know that."  
" Uh, I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but the Christa isn't going to wait for the honeymoon. Let's go," Suzee said.  
  
" Band, how's it going down there?" Goddard asked via Harlan's comm link.  
" Pretty good, Commander. There are still a few pods coming down, but most of the refugees are down," Harlan said.  
" Commander Kinwon would like a word with you Commander," Radu said.  
" Commander, my aide and chief engineer have yet to come down, and from what your people have told me, my flagship is empty," Kinwon said.  
" They have asked to join my crew. Your engineer has offered to assist in our engineering section, and Miss Arussa has some familiarity with cooking. We could use food in the galley instead of reprocessed. gruel," Goddard muttered. Kinwon was silent.  
" Neither one of them seemed happy whenever we attempted to make a home somewhere. Very well, Commander Goddard. Take care of them," Quinwon nodded. He then hurried down into the caverns.  
" Commander, the last pod just arrived. The people on board are heading here now," Harlan said.  
" Good Band. Once they're in there, get aboard the Starling and get back up here," Goddard ordered.  
  
" Commander Goddard, perhaps there is something I may do?" Elmira asked.  
" If I have to, I'd like to think that I could pretend to use you as a hostage against the Spung. Would it be possible?" Goddard asked.  
" I do not believe so, Commander. You will remember what happened with Warlord Kram?" Elmira pointed out.  
" You're right. All right. Stay off to the side. You might make them want to destroy us even more," Goddard said. Elmira nodded.  
" Commander, we just intercepted a transmission. It's directed in the direction of Spung territory. And guess who's in command of the Super Killcruiser?" Bova asked.  
" Who?" Goddard said, though he already knew the answer.  
" Warlord Shank," Terrien said. While Terrien's face was the picture of calm, Goddard could tell there was fury just under the surface. Shank's last encounter with Terrien had left his family and friends dead.  
" Commander, I strongly suggest we-" Davenport started.  
" Commander, I've got an idea. We set the refugee ships to self destruct and we run. After leading the Killcruiser right into the heart of them. When they blow, the Killcruiser should blow too," Terrien said. The vengeance and fury was apparent in his eyes.  
" That's our best plan for now. Plan how we do this," Goddard ordered. Terrien and Bova nodded.  
" Commander, Harlan and Radu are back," Catalina reported.  
" Good. Tell them to get up here stat," Goddard ordered.  
" Commander, Spung will be in firing range in five minutes, sixteen seconds," Thelma said. Harlan and Radu arrived through the jumptubes.  
" Band. Helm. Radu. Navigation. Rosie, hail the Super Killcruiser. I'd rather try and see if a peaceful solution is at all possible," Goddard said when he received odd looks from the crew.  
" Four minutes, forty-seconds," Thelma said.  
" Commander, they're-" The ship rocked. " -increasing speed," Rosie sighed.  
" Spung are now in firing range," Thelma said.  
" Commander, I don't believe talking is an aspect the Spung are interested in," Davenport said.  
" I'll agree!" Terrien called, bumping into one of the Christa's veins. It glew. " Okay, what was that?" he asked, removing his hand.  
" You're bonded with the ship. Help Bova at Tactical," Goddard said. " Band. Take us over to the middle of the ships," Goddard ordered.  
" You got it, Commander!" Harlan cried.  
  
" Those foolish children. They think that by luring me into a field full of derelicts-s-s they will s-s-s-slow me down enough to get away? Fire another frag torpedo," Shank growled.  
  
" Incoming frag torpedo!" Rosie cried.  
" Hold on! We're in the middle!" Harlan cried. The ship shook violently.  
" That one nearly clipped the port solar sail!" Cat cried.  
" Band, we cannot afford to lose a solar sail," Goddard growled.  
" Tell that to the Spung, not me, Commander," Harlan muttered.  
" Spung will be in the middle of the field in... twenty seconds," Rosie cried.  
" Keep us away from their frag torpedoes," Goddard warned.  
" Commander, the Spung are firing some unknown weapon!" Bova called.  
" Band!"  
" I'm on it!" Harlan cried, forcing the ship into a tight turn. Davenport screamed, and those without a handhold on something fell to the floor.  
" Sound off if your hurt!" Goddard barked. Assorted moans were his response. " Good. Rosie, how long until they hit the middle?" he asked.  
" They just hit it," Rosie said.  
" Suzee! Now," Goddard hissed.  
  
" Here goes nothing," Suzee muttered. She then pressed the button marked 'Do Not Press!'  
  
The T'Kay rumbled.  
" What was that?" Shank asked.  
" An explosion, oh dreaded one. One of the derelicts exploded-" There was another. Then another. Then another.  
  
" Band, let's get out of here," Goddard smirked.  
" We're gone," Harlan smirked. The Christa sped out of the system, as the last of the refugee ships exploded.  
  
" Report! Give me a damage report!" Shank growled.  
" Almost everything is out. There is enough power for us to reach the nearest Spung vessel. Other than that, it will take our main repair yard to fix the ship," the lieutenant reported.  
" Those blasted children! They will enjoy their victory for now, but I will see them pay!"  
  
" Welcome to the Christa's main engine room. This is where the main hyperdrive engine is," Suzee said, introducing Frankie to the ship's main engine room.  
" And you don't work here... why?"  
" I prefer to be hands on in the secondary engine room," Suzee explained.  
" Ah. I like this place. Reminds me of the Heart at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia that my father had holo-photos of. I think I made the right choice," Frankie smiled.  
  
" And this is the galley. That's the food wheel over there. It's an interesting piece of technology, but it doesn't always work. That's why we have the Biosphere," Cat said.  
" I can work with this. You haven't lived until you've had my Leeola Root Soufflé," Tierra smiled.  
  
" So, now we've got two more kids to take care of. Next time we stop at a planet and take out the communication device, maybe we should ask Admiral Cody to give them all honorary Starcademy cadet status," Goddard muttered.  
" More students to teach? Commander Goddard, do you intentionally do these things to me? Teaching five students who were failing is difficult enough, but now I have five more?" Davenport asked.  
" I seem to recall you handling a group of seventeen Trabe students for seven hours without even breaking a sweat," Goddard pointed out.  
" That was different!"  
" How?"  
" I... I'll get back to you on that," Davenport said. Goddard smiled triumphantly and the Christa continued on its course for the Starcademy. 


	5. The Long Journey Home

Suzee dragged herself out of bed. Entering the lavatory, she took a shower, leaving some hot water for Rosie later on, put on a new uniform, and straightened her hair. As she exited, she nearly ran into Elmira.  
" Oh, sorry," she said.  
" It's all right. I was just on my way to talk with Thelma. Commander Goddard believes I may be able to help her understand some of the Spung ship movements," Elmira said.  
" There are Spung on our scanners?" Suzee asked.  
" No. However, Thelma has informed me that the Christa has reformed one of the storage bays into a large room with a map of explored space, complete with Spung ship movements," Elmira said.  
" This is why I never worked with semi-sentient ships back home. They tend to redesign themselves with no warning," Suzee muttered.  
  
" Uh, when did the Christa get a giant starmap?" were the first words out of Terrien's mouth as he arrived at the new space lab.  
" Approximately 0327 last night," Thelma said, appearing out of no where.  
" I'm still not used to that," he said, motioning to the direction that Thelma had appeared from.  
" What do we call this room?" Harlan asked.  
" At the moment, we call it the room with the star map. We'll start up a pool to figure out what to call it," Goddard said.  
" Involving the students in naming this room, Commander?" Davenport asked.  
" That's right."  
" Then I suggest a few rules. No inappropriate names, Mr. Band."  
" That was just once!"  
" With my family tree project," Cat muttered as she walked past. Davenport smiled smugly and Terrien hid a grin.  
" And anything unpronounceable in Standard will be very difficult for the humans in dangerous situations," Davenport continued.  
" Smart. For example if it was named 'Map' in Rigellian, we'd spend an hour just getting out the first half," Terrien said.  
" And of course, nothing that is... how shall I put this...?"  
" Stupid?" Goddard suggested.  
" I'd say that's as good as anything," Bova muttered.  
" So, Harlan. Looks like you won't be participating in the pool," Suzee said.  
  
" Commander Goddard, the engines are performing at a rate that, from the records, is incredible. It's pretty impressive. If this were the regular story, I'd say we'd be home about a year sooner," Frankie said.  
" Too bad it's unlikely that we'll stay on course, not be attacked by an energy sucking creature or the Spung during our return trip," Goddard sighed.  
" Eh. Anyway, this engine control is very user friendly," Frankie said.  
" Really?"  
" Yeah. Look," Frankie said, and lifted and pushed a few crystals, activating a training video.  
" You got the crystals to move for you?"  
" Yeah. Why?"  
" Never mind," Goddard muttered.  
  
" Drawing for the name in five minutes!" Tierra cried.  
" I put in the name 'Star Lab,'" Suzee said.  
" I found an interesting name in the old database. It's from some old television show. 'Astrometrics,'" Terrien said.  
" You're all going down," Harlan chuckled. " Why? What are you suggesting Harlan?" Cat asked, with sarcasm dripping through every word.  
" I'm going with 'Space Lab,'" Harlan said. The others waited about five seconds before bursting with laughter. Harlan glared and walked off.  
" Okay, now who's with me in saying he's going down?" Terrien asked. Cat and Suzee instantly agreed, while Rosie took a little goading from Cat and Suzee.  
  
" Commander, there's something appearing at the extreme of our long- range sensors," Thelma reported.  
" Thelma, head down to the Map Room and get an image," Goddard ordered. Thelma glanced at him. Goddard sighed. " The newly created room, Thelma," he sighed. Thelma nodded and walked out. In a few minutes, a picture appeared on the screen.  
" All hands to the Command Post. Stat," Goddard ordered.  
  
" A portal back to the Starcademy?" Davenport gasped.  
" That's what it appears to be," Goddard said. All were in awe.  
" We... we're going home?" Harlan asked.  
" Home," Cat gasped.  
" Well, what's the catch? There has to be a catch," Bova said.  
" Bova's right. The odds on us finding a portal like this are." Terrien turned to Thelma.  
" Seven trillion, four thousand nine hundred and two billion, nine hundred and ten billion, five hundred thousand, nine hundred ninety-four to one," Thelma said.  
" What she said," Terrien closed.  
" Terrien. Are you going to insist on becoming a human Bova?" Suzee asked.  
" Hey!" Bova cried.  
" Nevertheless, this is a chance that may not come again. We have to try," Goddard said.  
  
" Okay, this may seem a little redundant since we're almost back, but we're about to draw for the name of our new room," Tierra announced. She put all the named that had been suggested into a compupad. " Now, the Christa will randomly pick one and." As she said this, the image of a wheel with each name appeared on her compupad and spun until it stopped. The name flashed on her screen. " The winner is 'Astrometrics!'" she cried.  
" Yes!" Terrien shouted to himself.  
" Tough luck, Harlan," Cat smiled.  
" Yeah, yeah," Harlan said, getting up. He walked over to Terrien. " Way to go, Terrien," he said.  
" Thanks, Harlan," Terrien said. They shook hands.  
  
A few hours later, in Astrometrics, Terrien and Thelma were continuing scans of the portals.  
" Thelma, there are a few odd power spikes coming from a location about six meters away from the portal. Can you increase the magnification in that area?" Terrien asked.  
" Increasing magnification now," Thelma nodded. Terrien squinted his eyes to get a better look.  
" I think it's some kind of station, but it's too small to be manned. There's not enough space to have a version of the biosphere," he said.  
" Perhaps it is a probe, monitoring the portal," Thelma suggested.  
" It could be, but it doesn't seem to have the necessary engines to return to its mother ship or home world. And there's nothing from what I can tell that would give it its own power to get home," Terrien sighed.  
" We should inform Commander Goddard," Thelma said.  
" Yeah. Good idea," Terrien said. Thelma walked off, and Terrien continued looking over the data. As Goddard entered, he wheeled around.  
" Commander! Commander, I found something you've got to see," Terrien said.  
" What is it?" Goddard asked.  
" This. I was looking over things for the portal, and... Well, look," he said, pointing at his readings.  
  
" There's another portal?" Cat asked.  
" That's right," Goddard said.  
" It reminds me of a species I read about once, who created portals at will. I believe they called themselves... Iconians," Davenport said.  
" Regardless, this second portal also appears to lead back to the Starcademy," Goddard said.  
" Why would there be two portals to the same location?" Rosie asked.  
" There shouldn't be. Which is what makes me think that one of them is real, and another is a phony," Terrien said.  
" And according to the Christa's own scans, the object appears to be generating both portals," Thelma said.  
" And you didn't bring this up before... Why?"  
" You did not ask," Thelma smiled. Goddard and Terrien sighed.  
" What else do the scans say," Goddard tried.  
" The Christa has scanned the portal generator, and has concluded that it is malfunctioning, and it is losing power at a rate of approximately 9% per hour. At this rate, there will only be enough power for a journey through the portals for the next... ten hours," Thelma said.  
" Ten hours? That should be more than enough time,"  
" And there appears to be another problem. The power required for a return trip would be double the power it takes to send a ship through," Thelma said.  
" One way trip," Harlan said.  
" And I bet we'll end up going through the wrong one," Bova said.  
" Bova!" The others said.  
" Look, let's just analyze the situation and make sure that we go through the right portal," Goddard said.  
  
" Why would some aliens build a portal that leads to the Starcademy, anyway?" Tierra asked.  
" Don't look at me. I just report these findings to the lower decks," Frankie said.  
" We're not the 'lower decks.' We've just the only crew members on the Christa who aren't that perky-" Tierra mimicked a cheerleader pose, "- about returning to the Sol system," Tierra said.  
" But everyone else is. They are so excited. And who wouldn't be? I mean a six year journey back to friendly space? That's harsh," Frankie said.  
" Space is harsh. But let's just get through this together. Okay?" Tierra asked.  
" Yeah," Frankie said.  
  
" Okay, now. Band, turn the Nobi dial just a little," Goddard ordered. Harlan complied.  
" Commander, why are we still working on tweaking the Christa? I mean, we're going home," Harlan said.  
" No, we might be going home. We have no idea which portal is the right one, and there is only nine hours left for us to scan the portals. Therefore, if we go through the wrong portal, I want this ship to be in tip- top condition for whatever length of journey we have left," Goddard said. As Harlan walked off, Goddard muttered, " Six more years with that ego..."  
  
" Now, people, settle down. I realize that we are almost home, but it is still, for the time being, my job to teach you. Therefore, activate your compupads and access file Davenport-Underscore-Six," Davenport commanded her students. " Screen on," she ordered the Christa. " Now, for the past year, Mr. Band, Mr. Radu, Mr. Bova, and Miss Ianni have all been recording their journal entries. Perhaps now would be a good time to share these feelings. Don't worry, you may skip anything too personal. But I am doing this for the learning opportunity it will have for some of our other students, such as Mr. Walker, who has spent most of his life on a colony ship," Davenport said.  
" Six years hardly qualifies as most of my life," Terrien muttered.  
" Or Miss Elmira," Davenport continued as if Terrien hadn't said anything, " who has spend the vast majority of her life around Spung. Or Mr. Thomas and Miss Arussa, who grew up on refugee ships. Or Suzee, who has only spent the past half year in space."  
" I was on ships back on Yensid, just never stuck on them," Suzee muttered.  
" So, are there any volunteers?" Davenport asked. Harlan, Radu, Bova and even Rosie's hands remained down.  
" Oh, come now. Surely one of you would be willing to show your journals," Davenport said. When still no hands were raised, she sighed. " All right, then. I'll go first," she said, grabbing her compupad and turning to the screen. If she had turned back, she would have seen the sly smirk that started to creep onto Harlan's face. She pressed the button on her Compupad to send the data to the screen.  
" This is the journal of Theresa James Davenport. Or at least that's what the students here think. I am actually Stellerna, the Ruler of the Universe!" Davenport's image said. The class began to laugh.  
" Harlan Band! Ten demerits!" Davenport cried as she slammed the compupad to her table.  
" Nice farewell prank, Harlan," Terrien said, putting his palm out for Harlan to five him. Harlan quickly slapped his hand down to greet Terrien's.  
  
" Okay, Commander, the engine room checks out," Frankie reported.  
" So do the engines themselves," Suzee added.  
" My cooking supplies are ready if you want to have a return banquet in the galley," Tierra piped in.  
" MedLab secured," Rosie reported.  
" Engineering station ready," Cat stated.  
" Astrometrics ready," Terrien said.  
" Tactical ready," Bova said.  
" Navigation ready," Radu reported.  
" Sensors ready," Elmira said.  
" And helm and helmsman are ready for our journey through the portal," Harlan reported.  
" Excellent," Goddard said.  
" Commander, there are approximately fifty-nine minutes until the portal generator has lost enough power for it to be impossible for us to travel through the portals," Thelma reported.  
" All right, team. This is it. After hours at Astrometrics, I have reviewed the data we've got on the portal generator and the portals themselves. And, after careful consideration, I believe that the Starcademy is through the portal we discovered first. Mr. Band?" Goddard said, motioning to the portal. Harlan steered the ship towards the first portal, just as the generator suddenly shook and the second portal vanished.  
" What happened?" Goddard asked.  
" The second portal became too much of a drain on the generator. There must be working safety protocols on the generator, and it forced the second portal to close," Elmira reported.  
" Well, good thing we were going to go through the first portal, then. Band," Goddard said, confident in the fact that now, even if this was the wrong portal, at least it would no longer be his fault, and he wouldn't have to beat himself up over it at night.  
  
Harlan was careful as he coaxed the ship into the portal. As soon as the ship was fully in the portal, everything he could see through the screen was black, except for a white sphere, which the ship seemed to be flying towards. As he suddenly seemed to be knocked unconscious, he couldn't help remembering Elmira's prediction from almost a year ago. A hole in space that glows with light will take you all away tonight.  
  
Goddard awoke from unconsciousness on the Command Post of the Christa.  
" Radu," he moaned, seeing the Andromedan was conscious, " What's our position?"  
" Uh. we're. We're not at the Starcademy," Radu said. Goddard heard the sadness in his voice. The others were soon up. Suzee, Terrien, Frankie, Tierra, Rosie, and Miss Davenport arrived on the Command Post.  
" We didn't make it?" Rosie asked.  
" No," Goddard sighed. " Thelma, what's our time to the Starcademy?" Goddard asked.  
" Our journey back to the Starcademy will take. eleven years, ten months, one week, and five days," Thelma said, with her smile on her face. After this statement, a pin drop could have been heard by everyone.  
" Eleven years? You mean we added years to our journey, not subtracted?" Cat asked, holding back tears.  
" Yes," Thelma nodded. For the next five minutes, it was a time where they all took comfort from each other. Terrien and Cat hugged. Rosie cried on Bova's shoulder, and he let her. Radu wiped a few tears from his eyes as Elmira gave him a peck on the cheek. Goddard and Davenport hung back in the entryway, and Davenport grabbed Goddard's arm. Harlan grabbed Suzee, and held her. Frankie sat and Tierra hugged him. After five minutes, Goddard went to the front of the Command Post.  
" Team, I know this is heartbreaking. But we need to remember, that while this is now an even longer journey home, we still have a duty to ourselves. We are sworn to get home, and, though it will take even longer than we originally hoped, we will get home. Never doubt that," Goddard said. One by one, the students and Miss Davenport nodded and returned to their individual stations. And Harlan, tired of the whole journey now, turned to Goddard.  
" Ready, Commander," he said.  
" Good, Mr. Band. Set course for. home," Goddard sighed. 


	6. Gem Jam

After two weeks stuck on the Christa without any kind of outside contact, Commander Goddard and Miss Davenport had finally agreed on something.  
  
"Twenty-four hours of shore leave on the next habitable planet we come across," Goddard said, "And thanks to our new Astrometrics room, we've already located the nearest habitable planet. Terrien?" he asked, turning to the Christa's new crewman.  
  
"The planet Mercan," said Terrien. "It's an inhabited planet, not much larger than Pluto, and this morning during the graveyard shift, they contacted us. I didn't discover it in Astrometrics, Commander."  
  
"My mistake," Goddard apologized.  
  
"Anyway, the Mercanians invited us to enjoy the pleasures of their world. They've got a little bit of everything. Now then, guys, I'm sure Miss Davenport has written up a schedule of events. I suggest we throw it out the airlock and have a bit of fun," Terrien said with a smile.  
  
"Second it!" Harlan called.  
  
"Well," Miss Davenport huffed.  
  
"Regardless, we'll arrive at Mercan in about an hour. I suggest you prepare for a bit of fun," Goddard said.

Cat emerged from the bathroom in a bathing suit.  
  
"I cannot wait to get into one of the pools at Mercan," she said excitedly. "I was a swimming champion on Saturn for a couple of years, you know."  
  
"Really?" asked Rosie. "I've never swam in water before. Only in the cooled lava pools on Mercury."  
  
"What did you swim in on Saturn?" Suzee asked.  
  
"You don't know?" Rosie asked.  
  
"No, it was before Suzee and I met," interjected Cat. "I used to go to the pool the Rigelians built on Titan all the time with my parents before they became diplomats."  
  
"So, what was it like?" Rosie asked.  
  
"It was so much fun. There were two types of pools. One was a regular pool where there are steps to get in and out, and the other one was basically a bubble filled with water. It was in this force field that kept it up in the air and then, once they'd gotten about ten people into it, they'd deactivate the gravity inside the bubble. It was exhilarating." Cat smiled at the memory.

Harlan wanted to come onto the Command Post in his swim trunks, but Commander Goddard shunned that idea, saying that he wanted Harlan to pilot the Christa down to Mercan before he could enjoy himself. Harlan activated the landing procedure.  
  
"Landing struts activated," Harlan reported as per S.O.P.  
  
"Take us to code two," Goddard ordered.  
  
"I hate code two. It always messes up my experiments," Bova muttered.  
  
"Entering code two," Harlan said. "Descending," he reported. From another part of the ship, the sound of test tubes exploding could be faintly heard"Landing struts engaged," Cat said. She at least, had managed to escape the bathing suit issue, probably because her suit covered more of her body. As usual, it seemed to take an hour to land, although it actually took less than ten minutes to activate the landing struts, begin the decent, engage the struts, and come to a landing. Finally, the Christa landed.  
  
"Well, I do believe that constitutes as a job well done," Goddard said.  
  
"Can we go now?" Suzee asked.  
  
"Yes. Enjoy your vacation," Goddard said, smiling. The cadets vacated the Command Post almost instantly, leaving Goddard by himself.

"Okay, so, Cat, Bova, where do we go first?" Terrien asked.  
  
"I want to check out the food courts," Bova said, hurrying off to one of the many food carts advertising edible things from around the quadrant to eat.  
  
"Okay, so that leaves it at just you and me," Terrien amended, looking over to Catalina.  
  
"Make that just you. I see the pool," Cat said, hurrying over to the pool of crystal clear water.  
  
"How did I not see that coming?" Terrien asked himself. A couple of young women passed by. "Oh. The scenery here is lovely," he said with a grin.

Elmira was the only member of the cadets who was not enjoying herself. Although she was with the invited cadets, she was staying on the Christa in the hopes that she would not be imprisoned for being a Spung. Suddenly, she had one of her visions.  
  
"Hidden here and around, lie four crystals, powers abound. Journey through the core and you shall see, why their mystical power led them to thee," she whispered.

"...And so, while the rest of the crew lay defenseless, I picked up Dram's sword and threw it at his monster, and allowed Dram to rest in peace," Harlan 'retold' to a couple of ladies at a friendly juice bar.  
  
"Wow, how brave of you," one of the ladies, a Brunali, cooed.  
  
"Yes, yes, I know. And I bet you're all dying to know how I rescued Suzee from the grips of the computer Pezu, but I believe that my friend Radu would like to speak with me. So, until next time, ladies," Harlan said, flashing a smile at the ladies. He walked over to Radu.  
  
"So, Mr. 'Ladies' Man,' how'd it go?" Radu asked.  
  
"Just like I thought. They ate it up. I told you, making yourself seem like the hero of your own adventures always gets them interested in you," Harlan said with a sly smile.  
  
"Yeah, but what do you do when they find out the truth?" Radu asked.  
  
"That's the beauty of these vacation planets. It's very hard, if not impossible, for them to find out the truth," Harlan said. "Hey, let's go swim."  
  
"I, uh, can't," Radu said.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I don't have a swimsuit."  
  
"No problem. You can head back to the Christa and grab one of mine," Harlan suggested.  
  
"Uh, no, I don't think so," Radu said, beginning to look uncomfortable.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's... it's against Andromedan beliefs to show any part of the body other than the face, and that's simply for identification purposes," Radu explained.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's a religious thing," Radu said.  
  
"Oh. Okay. I understand," Harlan said, though he was still confused. Then a hooded figure grabbed Radu's arm.  
  
"Ah!" he cried.  
  
"Radu, it's me," Elmira said from under the hood.  
  
"Elmira?" Radu asked, the blood returning to his face.  
  
"Yes. Radu, I had a vision and had to come see you. It's very important," Elmira said. They pulled back and nearly knocked over Suzee.  
  
"Watch out!" Suzee cried, "Could you two be a little more careful?" she asked.  
  
"Suzee, come on, it's Elmira. It's important," Harlan said. The four pulled back to a corner behind a table.  
  
"What was your vision, Elmira?" Radu asked. Elmira closed her eyes, then spoke.  
  
"Hidden here and around, lie four crystals, powers abound. Journey through the core and you shall see, why their mystical power led them to thee," she said.  
  
"What's that mean?" Suzee asked.  
  
"Got me," Harlan said.  
  
"It relates to a great source of power somewhere here on Mercan. And there are four crystals, which hold great power," Elmira said.  
  
"We should tell Commander Goddard," Harlan said uncharacteristically. The four headed back to the Christa, and the two men at the table pulled back their hoods.  
  
"Well, what do you make of that?" asked the one with the scar.  
  
"Those crystals and the ship will sell wonderfully on the Spung market," the other one said.  
  
"My thoughts exactly," snickered Reaver. He and Ubi put their hoods back on and headed back to the port where they'd landed their ship.

"So, your vision told you that there were four crystals with great power, somewhere here on Mercan?" Goddard asked.  
  
"Only one is one Mercan. But the others cannot be far away. After all, I would not have received this vision if they were separated far apart from each other," Elmira said.  
  
"All right, so what do these crystals do?" Goddard asked.  
  
"I do not know, but I believe that when we find the first, we will discover why we need to find the other three," Elmira explained.  
  
"I don't know. It sounds dangerous," Goddard said.  
  
"Commander, I have my visions for good reasons. If I saw these crystals, it means we must get them," Elmira said.  
  
"Be that as it may, I don't want the four of you putting yourselves in that kind of danger."  
  
"Commander, what if we bring the others with us?" Harlan suggested.  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea to interrupt their vacation," Goddard said, still wary.  
  
"Well, we might need Rosie, Bova, and Cat in case there's some kind of problem," Harlan said.  
  
"Fine, but volunteers only after them," Goddard sighed, "And take Thelma and the Gizbot with you.

The space cadets stood in front of a sheer rock wall, where Elmira had led them. "Okay, so where is the entrance?" Terrien asked. He had insisted on joining the others.  
  
"Elmira?" Radu asked. Elmira closed her eyes and attempted to remember more information from her vision.  
  
"We need to run up to the wall. And not be afraid of injury. It is a built-in defense mechanism to protect people from finding the crystal," Elmira said.  
  
"I feel so welcome," Bova muttered.  
  
"How do we know that the crystal's there?" Harlan asked.  
  
"The entire stone wall here is a very powerful hologram. Radu, as you are the most resistant to harsh impacts, perhaps you should go first," Elmira suggested. Radu gulped and moved backwards, then ran towards the wall. Upon reaching the wall surface, he vanished.  
  
"Radu?" Rosie asked.  
  
"I'm here," Radu's voice called. "There's a large cavern on the other side of the wall." That was enough for the others. One by one they ran through the wall. Upon reaching the other side, they activated the lights on their packs.  
  
"Okay, now, which way do we go?" Harlan asked.  
  
"Straight on, we should reach a fork very soon," Elmira said. They moved out. Once they were out of earshot, Reaver and Ubi appeared in the cavern.  
  
"Well, how nice of them to light the way for us," Reaver snickered. The two followed the lights from the kids' packs and Thelma's finger.

"Commander Goddard, may I remind you that the safety of these students is our responsibility? Why did you send them off on some wild goose chase without any adult supervision?" Davenport cried.  
  
"Relax, Miss Davenport. It's harmless and they have Thelma with them. She will let us know if they've encountered any trouble. And besides, I have a feeling they'll be bringing a little bit more than wild geese home," Goddard said with a smile.  
  
"You'd better hope they all come back intact, or else I will take direct authority over them. Then you will take the backseat," Davenport warned.  
  
"Why Teresa. I had no idea you felt so strongly about those students of ours," Goddard said, intentionally using her first name to annoy her.

"Elmira, we must have been walking for hours," Harlan moaned.  
  
"Three hours, five minutes, and thirty-two seconds," Thelma supplied.  
  
"Thanks, Thelma," Harlan sighed.  
  
"The fork is just a short distance away," Elmira said.  
  
"That's what you said an hour ago. I get the feeling we're walking in circles," Harlan said.  
  
"Wouldn't surprise me," Bova said dryly.  
  
"Bova," Terrien growled.  
  
"Wait. Look up there!" Rosie said, pointing to where the lights stopped.  
  
"It's the fork," Cat said.  
  
"About time," Suzee muttered.  
  
"Okay, Elmira. Which way now?" Radu asked.  
  
"We take the left passageway," Elmira said after a moment. The cadets hurried down the left way, Reaver and Ubi still silently following them.

"Okay, now what way do we go?" asked Cat, as they arrived at another fork.  
  
"Right. We should almost be there," Elmira said.  
  
"Wait," Radu said. "I hear something." He shushed the others. After a minute of focusing, he gasped. "Turn off your lights," he whispered. The others obeyed.  
  
"Why did we turn off our lights?" Harlan asked, turning to Cat, thinking she was Radu.  
  
"I hear Ubi," Radu whispered.  
  
"Ubi?" Terrien asked.  
  
"A pirate. He works with the guy who was responsible for Commander Goddard's being reduced in rank and becoming our teacher - a man named Reaver," Radu said.  
  
"And so they've been following our lights because they want the crystals too!" Terrien exclaimed.  
  
"Right. Only now that our lights are out, they'll have to follow the sounds we make. We have to go down the right path carefully," Radu whispered.  
  
"Gotcha," Harlan said.  
  
"Why couldn't you hear them before?" Suzee asked.  
  
"I think I heard some static-like crackling back while we were close to the holographic wall. That must have messed with my hearing," Radu explained. "Let's go. And remember, stay quiet."

"Ubi, which way did they go?" Reaver asked.  
  
"I don't know - I can't find the scent. And without their lights, I'm as blind as you are in this darkness," Ubi growled. After glancing in a couple of directions, Ubi turned and ran straight into a wall, knocking himself unconscious. Reaver promptly tripped over Ubi and joined him on the ground.

A resounding CRACK! shattered the silence that the cadets were walking in.  
  
"What was that?" Harlan asked. Radu listened.  
  
"I... I think it was Ubi and Reaver running into a wall in the dark," Radu smiled.  
  
"Good, that means we can turn our lights back on," Suzee said.  
  
"Yeah, but let's hurry. I don't know how long they'll be unconscious," Radu said. The others nodded.

Back on the Christa, the rest of the crew was getting worried."  
  
"Commander, where are the others?" Frankie asked. "Shouldn't they be back by now? It's almost lights out and they're still not back."  
  
"Yeah, and I wanted to test out a few new Mercanian recipes on them," Tierra said.  
  
"I don't know," said Commander Goddard, walking over to a commlink. "Thelma," Goddard said into the link. There was no response.  
  
"Well, Commander, I believe I warned you about this sort of thing. Now the students are missing," Davenport said.  
  
"If they aren't back by day break tomorrow, we'll all go look for them. It's too late now; we could get lost looking for them," Goddard said. Davenport didn't like that argument, but she had to live with it.

"Is it just me, or is it getting hotter in here?" Terrien asked.  
  
"It is getting hotter. The temperature is almost 12% warmer than when we entered this cavern," Thelma said.  
  
"You think there's a reason for it?" Cat asked, wiping a thin layer of sweat from her forehead.  
  
"We have been traveling downward for the past seven hours. Also, the ground beneath us appears to have similarities to an Earth treadmill. It has been moving us slightly forward while we have been walking," Thelma said.  
  
"Seven hours? Man, that means we've missed our check-in points with Commander Goddard," Harlan said.  
  
"Do not worry, Harlan. My sensors indicate that there is a shield around the cavern preventing our contacting the Christa. It is not our fault for missing the check-in points," Thelma said with her quirky smile.  
  
"Great. I'd suggest a rest period, but we don't know if Reaver and Ubi have woken up yet. There's a chance that we'd lose valuable time," Suzee said.  
  
"Wait. Elmira, in your vision, and your prediction, didn't you say something about 'through the core'?" Radu asked.  
  
"Yes, I did," Elmira said.  
  
"What if-"  
  
"What if that means go through the core of the planet?" Terrien finished with a gulp.  
  
"The planet core? As in filled with molten lava that will burn us to cinders before we can get to the crystal?" Cat asked.  
  
"That's ridiculous," Suzee said. "We haven't traveled nearly far enough to reach the core of a planet like Mercan – and anyway, the gravity at Mercan's core would crush us to a fine, messy paste. It's probably an upwelling of some sort that came from Mercan's core. Very hot, but several hundred miles away from the core."  
  
"It wouldn't be too hot for me," Rosie suggested, "And I can last longer without sleep than you guys – I can absorb energy from the molten rock."  
  
"I think that's best. If Rosie goes, the rest of us can get some sleep," Suzee said.  
  
"Rosie, it should be a straight journey to the crystal. But still, be careful," Elmira said.  
  
"I will," Rosie said. She walked off, continuing the journey that the others could not.

Rosie could sense the heat of the upwelling before she heard it. Then, she saw it. A small bridge ran through some kind of bubble. Surrounding the bubble from all sides was a sea of magma from the true molten core of Mercan. Suddenly, she realized something was wrong. Even with her heat absorption powers, she should not be able to walk through here comfortably. It should be draining to walk through. And why was there a bubble in the core?  
  
Rosie decided not to push her luck. She swiftly ran across the bridge and to the other side. The bubble stayed in existence, though, and now there was a red light shining in front of her. She ran forward to it.  
  
"The crystal," she gasped. The crystal glowed and crackled with red energy. Above it was an inscription.  
  
"'Find the four crystals and you shall find that which your dreams do hope'," Rosie read. "That must mean that it'll take us where we most want to go!" she cried. She grabbed the crystal without another second's thought and ran back through the bubble. Once she was through, however, the bubble began to flicker.  
  
"Uh oh," she gasped. She sprinted away, now running on adrenaline. Almost immediately, the flickering intensified until the bubble finally crackled out of existence, magma pouring through to fill up the missing space. Rosie ran until she reached where the others were.  
  
"Rosie? What's going on?" Cat asked.  
  
"Run! There's magma coming!" Rosie cried.  
  
"What?" the others cried. Instinct kicked in and the others ran, trying to get away from the deadly magma. Unfortunately, the magma was gaining on them.  
  
Then, they tripped over two unconscious forms.  
  
"Ubi and Reaver," Harlan said.  
  
"Do we leave them?" Suzee asked.  
  
"Not even pirates like them deserve to be burned to cinders. Maybe Ubi has a natural reflex and will telemorph us out of here if we're all together," Harlan said. The magma was now close enough for the cadets to see it. The kids closed their eyes just as the Gizbot zapped Ubi, causing him to wake up, see the magma, and telemorphed every one out just before the magma hit.

The crew found themselves, along with Reaver, outside the cliff.  
  
"Are we okay?" Rosie asked.  
  
"You won't be for much longer," Ubi growled. Reaver had awakened as well, and stood next to Ubi with a smirk on his face.  
  
"Well, well. Seth Goddard's kids have brought themselves to me. And look, Ubi. They brought the crystal," Reaver snickered. He reached for it, but Rosie tossed it to Cat who caught it.  
  
"Just give it to us, Rainbow. We won't harm your friends," Reaver snickered. Cat threw a sonic blast at Reaver just as Bova fired a crackle of electricity at his butt. Ubi tried to take the crystal out of Cat's hand, but Rosie fired a heat blast right in front of him, forcing him to stop short. However, past experience taught them that they wouldn't be able to stop them with their abilities. Luckily, the Christa arrived just then.  
  
"We'll be getting that crystal, one way or another. Let's go, Ubi," Reaver ordered, and the two telemorphed out.

"So, Reaver and Ubi are going to go after the crystals as well?" Goddard asked after the rest of the crew had returned to the ship.  
  
"They seem to only know of this crystal's existence," Terrien said.  
  
"No, they don't. They were at the juice bar where I told Harlan, Suzee and Radu of my vision. They'll be looking for the other three," Elmira said.  
  
"Then we need to get those other three before they do. Elmira, where do you think the next crystal is?" Goddard asked. Elmira focused on her vision.  
  
"I believe it is on a planetoid not far from here," she said.  
  
"C'mon, Elmira. Let's head down to Astrometrics and look for the planetoid," Terrien said. The two hurried down to Astrometrics, where Terrien immediately began to scan the area around the ship.  
  
"It should be within two parsecs of Mercan," Elmira told Terrien. Terrien looked up from his scans.  
  
"Then we're in trouble. The only planetoid close to Mercan is the penal colony of Rura Penthe," Terrien said.  
  
"That's it. I remember an inscription of 'Rura Penthe: Work, no leisure'," Elmira said.  
  
"We should inform Commander Goddard."

"Rura Penthe? That's one of the most dangerous places in the known galaxy," Goddard said.  
  
"And that's where Elmira saw the next crystal," Terrien said.  
  
"Commander, we can't go to Rura Penthe! The most dangerous criminals have been locked up there!" Davenport cried.  
  
"Not all of them," Bova said, referring to Ubi and Reaver.  
  
"Commander, with even one crystal, Ubi and Reaver will become bent on getting us and not only taking our crystal, but kidnapping me to locate the other two," Elmira said.  
  
"We can't let them take Elmira," Radu nearly shouted.  
  
"Calm down, Mr. Radu. Now, let's take a vote. Rura Penthe, or continue home?" Everyone but Davenport said Rura Penthe, and when faced with the puppy dog eyes the students came up with, Davenport couldn't refuse.  
  
"But Commander, keep in mind that we are responsible for the safety of these students," she said. Goddard nodded.  
  
"Mr. Band, set course for Rura Penthe," Goddard ordered. 


End file.
